Expression of Interest for the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructure

The FCT has invited scientific institutions, individually or in consortium, to submit Expressions of Interest to join the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures of Strategic Interest (RNIE) as research infrastructure, with a view to updating, modernizing, and strengthening it for the period 2022-2027. The call for expressions of interest is available here and the form for submitting responses will be available between November 18, 2021, and January 11, 2022.

Integration as research infrastructure in the RNIE will be possible in the following ways:

• Continue to integrate the RNIE as a research infrastructure, without changes to the composition of its consortium or its scope of activity;
• Continue to integrate the RNIE as a research infrastructure, with changes in the composition of its consortium, namely through the merger of two or more research infrastructures, or its scope of action;
• Integrate the RNIE with new research infrastructure projects.

This expression of interest also aims to prepare the update of the Research Infrastructure Regulation and the launch of Calls a new cycle of funding for RNIE infrastructures, to be supported by national and EU funds through the Portugal2030 program.

You can access the invitation at:

• Infrastructures currently integrated into the RNIE (modalities 1 and 2);
• R&D institutions, namely R&D units, Associate Laboratories, collaborative laboratories, and technology interface centers;
• State Laboratories or International Laboratories based in Portugal;
• private non-profit institutions whose main purpose is research and development (R&D);
• other public and private non-profit institutions that develop or participate in R&D activities.

In 2013, FCT issued a Call proposals Call the creation of a National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures of Strategic Interest (RNIE). At that stage, 40 infrastructures were included in the Roadmap, which are listed in the first RNIE published at the end of 2014.  Science and technology infrastructures are part of the national scientific and technological system and are considered strategic for supporting research and development (R&D). They are a reference at national and international level, as they are part of external networks, namely the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).

By May 2020, 16 new research infrastructures had been integrated into the RNIE through four orders issued by the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education. In June 2020, the FCT published the first update to the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures – RNIE 2020, integrating a total of 56 infrastructures.

More information about the RNIE is available here.